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Seeing Through The Dark
Act 1 One year. In that small span of time, Asumu Godai had made attempts to come to terms with many of his recent decisions. He didn't like to think of himself as a complicated man; he preferred simplicity over all other things, but his mind might as well have been a labyrinth of twists and turns. Much of his life had been spent fighting and honing himself in order to be a soldier worth having, a commander worth following, but at the same time, he dreamed of the day he could lie down in peace, his wife and daughter by his side, and his conflicts all resolved. A pointless hope, of course, as he knew that the life of a soldier, much less a Quincy entailed anything but peace, hence his family's ultimate demise. It shook him to his core how they had perished and himself being no where to be found, not before the death, not during the death, and certainly not after the death; he hadn't even heard of their demise until after the latest war with the Shinigami, the one he volunteered to take part in. He'd already assumed that he would end up a hopeless case by the time his army was declared the loser, but when word reached him that his cherished wife and daughter had died in the time he'd left... His boots dug further into the white sands of Hueco Mundo, his Sternritter cloak discarded in favor of a tattered grey one with tattered ends and a hood over his head. The bleak color of the cloak matched perfectly with his surroundings, giving him at least some form of camoflauge as he wandered through these alien lands. Any other Sternritter would have worn their cloak at all times when they weren't in combat in a normally hostile environment, but "Quincy Pride" was the last thing on Asumu's mind now; any pride that a Quincy could hope to have after such a humiliating defeat would simply be a result of them living to see it through to it's end. No, he wasn't here to demonstrate any sort of pride or bravado, nor did he come here to die in a blaze of glory, slaughtering as many living things as possible: he was here to find his old comrades, his subordinates. The only reason he and the other Quincy in question survived the war was simply because they had remained here, as ordered. He was the Field-Commander of the Wandenreich's Huedo Mundo division, and when word of his family's death had reached him, he had left his platoon behind in order to find the cause of death. Now he was back where he started, heading towards their old base of operations. He could feel their Spiritual presence in the distance, several miles off, but at that same time, he could feel something else as well. This particular sector of Hueco Mundo contained a few of the arcane, can-shaped buildings that dotted the seemingly endless plane. He was able to force himself to don a smile as he recalled the times he would have his trainees conduct live-fire tests inside and out of these buildings, a practice that was very common and convenient in this particular division due to the endless supply of Reishi at their disposal. During those times, he knew that he was a better marksman than they were, obviously, and they did as well, and it was a great way to motivate the troopers to push themselves and their marksmanship to their limits. The area made a good training ground for combat scenarios as well, at least in the case of Hollow or Arrancar attacks. It was well-rounded, strategic, and was intended to serve as a good retreat option should their base of operations be overwhelmed. Strategic. ...Strategic. Asumu stopped in his tracks as he dwelled on the word for a few seconds. His paranoia started to creep up his spine, along with the feeling that he was being watched. Hanzel's feet met the soft dunes of sand softly, he'd followed his childhood friend out of obligation, it was necessary, he'd lost too much. He could never recover, he'd poured so much into his family, now they were gone, everything he built was gone. If only they'd been murdered, brutally, stabbed to death with a knife, that would've given his dear friend something to live for. Alas, every book, no matter how much he enjoyed it, had to have an end. "It's been a while, Asumu-kun. I've heard of your loss, I offer my sincerest condolences, I now realize that there's nothing left for you. Yes, didn't you travel here for the sole reason of taking solace in the misery of others? Our soldiers have nothing left, they were pawns all along, we knew that, you knew that. Yes, you even commanded some of them. A number of them are now dead, they'd played their part, so I saved them from existence. Perhaps their reincarnations shall have more purpose" He wiped a few blonde strands of hair from his eyes as he looked out into the air absentmindedly, his voice was gentle, like a lament. As if he saw something no one else did, and had a role he would rather not fulfill. There was tranquility too as he turned back to Asumu, slowly, he raised a single hand and gesticulated towards his exposed back. A smile playing on his features, a mirthless smile, a sad smile. "Their misery lit a candle, yours should become a pyre. Close your eyes, dear friend, think of what you've lost, think of what you'll never get back. There can be comfort in death, if you let it. Hold still, Asumu-kun, let me be your liberator, as I became theirs." The very air seemed to share Hanzel's lament, as spiritual energy gathered from the surroundings, assuming the shape of five interlocked barriers that formed a whirling beam of intersecting energy. was such an unusual spell, a spell of erasure, anything within this borders were destroyed, at least when it was cast by someone like him. The spell culminated in a thick white beam that stretches outwards, tearing open a large fissure in the very ground itself, as white sand began to surge downwards into the hole raining down in the Forest of the Menos so far below them. Strangely, even as the spell was completed, it didn't dissipate right away, but shrank down to a more manageable size, maintained in a shape that seemed suspiciously blade-like. Once he felt the sudden increase in Spiritual Pressure, Asumu knew simply by instinct that he only had seconds left before he was obliterated. It was a good thing he'd been taught from an early age how to handle a gun, because it would be the one thing that would save his life. He'd kept his hands down at his sides for this very reason, so that he might grab hold of his favored arsenal at a moment's notice. His right hand immediately whipped out the average-sized revolver from it's holster, the dark blue lighting on it's black handle glowing briefly as he aimed it directly at the oncoming beam. He discharged a single round, a Ginto tube to be precise, who's cap was dislodged from the gun's round chamber in place of a usual bullet shell. The actual tube itself unleashed a wave of black energy that was outlined in a light blue color, a stark contrast to the bright white blast that Hanzel had released just seconds prior. In a manner similar to a shield, only not nearly as firm or solid, this black wave intercepted the oncoming Heizen blast and seemed to break down the latter, not even giving the dissolved Reishi particles time to separate out into the open for either Asumu or Hanzel to absorb. This particular spell, called Zerfall, was an anti-Quincy based technique designed to eat away at an opposing Quincy's spell or arrow, using a form of Reishi manipulation and consumption that not only breaks down the opposing Reishi, but devours it, rendering it completely meritless. As the two spells dissipated into thin air, Asumu glared out towards Hanzel's location with narrowed eyes. He didn't even need to use his "The Sharpshooter" ability to know who the assailant was: Hanzel, someone he'd considered a childhood friend during much simpler times. "Hanzel..." he muttered lowly as he kept his pistol locked firmly on Hanzel's figure, using his free hand to remove the hood from his head to reveal his dirtied complexion and white hair, the latter of which seemed even dirtier than his face. "You of all people should know that attacking me from behind is no different than attacking me head on. You didn't think I was going to just take that, did you?" he asked in a blunt tone, his question indicating genuine confusion as opposed to being just an arrogant statement. For all he knew, Hanzel was just testing him, goading him, perhaps into having another spar like they used to, but even with that in mind, Hanzel's sudden appearance here made his unknown intentions seem slightly more sinister than usual. The blonde-haired man let out a soft sigh. Denial, he should've expected it, Asumu was a proud man, perhaps he would not admit to what he had lost? It was certainly possible, such a pity, it would seem as though he'd have to fight his own friend nevertheless. It'd pain him to do so, but he supposed this might be what one would call Asumu's final wish. The least he could do is grant it. "Asumu-kun, we've experienced much together, and it's only fitting that I fulfill my obligation to you as a friend, by striking you down. I would advise you not to resist, I cannot guarantee a painless salvation otherwise. But you're a soldier, my dear friend, and as a soldier you shall perish." At the final syllable of his macabre words and without even raising hands or uttering an incantation, twinkling blue motes of light appeared all around the two combatants, surrounding Asumu completely on all fronts. This was Hueco Mundo, reishi was in infinite supply here, more or less, there was no shortage of ammunition with which to make his attack, and no lack of options through which he might liberate his friend. Within an instant, each mote of light expanded in size, and assumed the form of an arrow, even as other motes began to form behind the completed arrows, they hovered in the air for a moment, before each of them homed in on Asumu's form and were fired simultaneously as innumerable piercing arrows of energy, each one fired with utmost precision, guided by Hanzel's keen mind as it was - he arranged them so that they came in smaller waves, to account for the use of Hirenkyaku, it would not do to for Asumu to escape his gift after all. Their minds were such that they attempted to survive by instinct, even if it would be better to just give in. As the continuous barrage of light arrows bombarded Asumu's location, and periodically shifted and reassigned itself to follow his movements, the very air seemed to scream and the ground shook with the force of all these arrows detonating in unison. Whatever constructs remained within the range of his attack quickly crumbled under it's weight, and anything else unfortunate to be within the radius likewise disappeared altogether. To any other Quincy, this assault on it's own might've been more than enough. Hanzel prided himself on being thorough. Raising his right hand, he reached into the storm of arrows, seized hold of five of them and arranged them in a perfect pentacle outside of the place where the arrows were hopefully detaining his target, forming a massive area of effect with Asumu at the center. Unlike his dearest friend, Hanzel didn't require Gintō tubes to perform , so, with merely a thought and a brief spoken word; a massive area was immediately engulfed in towering pillar of white spiritual energy that briefly blocked his line of sight. At first, there was silence, but then the world exploded into sound, as gales of compressed air tore through the landscape, derforming it further through the air pressure alone. The ground trembled, the heavens shook with rage and the former settlement of the Quincy was erased without nary a trace. It was magnificent he thought, to witness his friends life fade this quickly, this was a funeral pyre worthy of a king - no, it was a funeral pyre worthy of his dearest friend. Content, Hanzel rode the blast wave of his own attack to safety, as he watched the ground underneath him crumble at his spells power, tne bedrock was destroyed along with his friend, it would appear, and now everything that had been within range of his Sprenger plummeted down into the Forest of the Menos below. He could clearly see the trees, like massive spears they stretched upwards - a fitting cemetery indeed. He let himself glide until he met the edge of what was now a gaping chasm. He turned to witness his devastation, not dispelling the platform under his feet incase he'd need to try harder at Asumu's salvation. There wouldn't be any doubt now: Hanzel wanted Asumu dead, and based on this attack, he was willing to go to any lengths to do so. The Reishi that Hanzel began to gather was in such a large quantity that it was obvious to Asumu what he was going to do, and that was turn this former training ground into a parking lot. Hirenkyaku would be helpful here, but not entirely foolproof as he had no way of knowing just how large the attack's radius was truly going to be. His best options, now, would simply be to push his defenses to their absolute maximum and move as quickly as he could to a possible blindspot in Hanzel's vision and even possibly pull off a counter attack, but whether or not this would end up working was another story entirely. His Blut Vene coursed through his veins, giving his body a soothingly cool feeling as the energy fed through his body, and a good portion of it also diverted towards his legs as Hanzel's numerous arrows finally formed and then were unleashed upon Asumu's position, as if an entire platoon of Quincy had just put him in their crosshairs. He leaped back as hard and fast as he could, but even then it didn't seem like it was enough. The arrows, seemingly endless, struck all around and about him, and as he expected, they struck him too, more often than he would like. Blut Vene was a good defender against basic attacks, but it was far from flawless; the arrows that made contact would briefly sink into his skin, only to be slightly pushed out and shattered thereafter, but he certainly could still feel them, and they weren't pleasant. He'd only gotten a hundred or so meters away when the barrage had finally stopped, his boots skidding into the sand and his focus set on Hanzel's position. He was breathing a little heavier than before, as he hadn't expected Hanzel to go all out this quickly, but that didn't waver his glare, and he kept his Blut Vene up at it's maximum as a precaution. Spiritual Pressure aside, Asumu could see through any object, physical or spiritual, and clouds of dust and sand were no exception. It was here that he caught onto Hanzel's second stage of attack. Hanzel had caught five of the remaining arrows and was spreading them far apart, too far it seemed. When it came to Quincy spellcraft, anytime the number five was mentioned, it typically referred to Sprenger, and Sprenger was a bad thing for anyone caught in it's radius, Quincy included. However, this wouldn't be as difficult for Asumu to get out of, and it actually took him somewhat aback that Hanzel would be so careless as to use, an admittidly powerful attack, but one that was also easy to counter when it came to Quincy. His attention diverted towards the arrow that was furthest from Hanzel as all five of them were beginning to set in their desired location. Using his control over Reishi, Asumu quickly began to drain the arrow of it's energy, but he wouldn't have the time to completely drain it and stop the spell entirely, and thus he was all the more thankful that he hadn't let his Blut Vene die down. Using Hirenkyaku, he sped towards the weakened arrow as fast as he could. And then the Sprenger was unleashed. He didn't expect to get out of the blast completely unharmed, but weakening one of the Sprenger's points of focus allowed his body to endure the blast much more easily, and while it still burned, it didn't burn enough to kill him, and his Blut Vene was, of course, invaluble in this process. As he started to shift his gaze back towards Hanzel, raising his right revolver up at the same time, he pressed his finger against the trigger, ready to plant a bullet right into Hanzel's chest, but before he could, the ground beneath him seemed to utterly give way. Of course, how could he not have expected the ground beneath them to collapse and lead to the Forest of Menos below? Such an onslaught of attacks would lead to that conclusion and that conclusion alone, and he felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner. Just how distracted had he become in these past few months? Nevertheless, he fell into the forests below, but he was able to manifest a Hirenkyaku platform quickly enough to recover. Not wanting to give his position away, he moved his platform behind one of the thick, stone-like trees. Hanzel would no doubt be able to feel Asumu's spiritual presence should he keep his Blut Vene up, but he had to ensure that he could have at least some form of defense should Hanzel be prepared to strike again. He had to think quickly, for if he did not counterattack soon, the fight would end up entirely one-sided. His "The Sharpshooter" ability kicked in, in this case, it was the standard variation which allowed him to see clearly through obstructions, and in this case, it was the falling sand and debris that came in wake of Hanzel's onslaught. His target was in clear view, and he considered his options. He knew that at this point, he couldn't afford to hold back any of his resources Therefore, he fed as much energy into his next arrow shot as he could without immediately giving his position away, and then, as fast as a streak of lightning, Asumu whirled around the corner of the tree that served as his cover and fired one single Heilig Pfeil. Simple as the shot might have seemed, it was far from an ordinary arrow, and unlike his previous attack, it wasn't a Ginto tube either. As the bullet soared through the air, any sound that it had generated was silenced for only a second, before it suddenly shattered into several hundred smaller fragments that resembled bullets. By the time they would all clear through the smoke and debris, they would be upon Hanzel, but rather than simply assault him with what he would see as mere bee stings, Asumu decided that he ultimately had to put as much power into this attack as Hanzel had done just earlier. Therefore, each of the bullet shaped fragments were detonated once they reached Hanzel's position, creating an entire legion of sphere shaped explosive orbs, the likes of which rivaled the destructive capabilities that Hanzel's previous attack had reached. So numerous were the bullets and their following explosions that the resulting explosion furthered the amount of earth that would collapse into the great and empty forests below. Unlike Hanzel, Asumu couldn't afford to think that his attack had been successful; he hadn't seen nor heard from Hanzel in years, and there was no telling how much stronger he'd become in that time. His Blut Vene remained at it's full power, and his "The Sharpshooter" ability altered itself to where Asumu now had access to a full 360 degree view on the area; Hanzel wouldn't be able to surprise attack him unless he tried to do so from directly above, or directly below. He could just hope that he had managed to do something to his former friend... It was too simple, Hanzel had known Asumu since they were children, and the intelligence of his friend was always his defining characteristic even then, he remembered being awestruck by his analytical mind and knowledge. He'd been so proud of being his friend, even now, he only desired to help him. He'd be better off dead, he could see that. Watching the lone bullet approach him, the Sternlichter raised his hands up into the air, before closing his eyes to shield them from the blinding flashes of hundreds of pellets detonating in unison. Blocking out all sound, he weaves his spell expertly, as powerful barriers rise around him in a perfect cocoon to shield his form from the overwhelming destruction of Asumu's attacks, he can feel how the barriers crack and shatter under the tremendous forced exerted on them, but in Hueco Mundo, his reserves might as well be bottomless - for whenever a barrier is destroyed, two more form in it's place, each layered atop the previous barrier and intersecting with the rest of the cocoon. The explosions last for a while, and soon the cocoon is swallowed up in white smoke and the earth underneath him crumbles; but still standing on his platform from earlier, he remains floating mid-air. The attack was undeniably powerful, had this not been Hueco Mundo he might've been forced to employ more drastic measures, but at this point the continuous array of barriers proved more than adequate for the task. As the bullets continued to pummel against his defenses in vain, Hanzel directed his concentration elsewhere - namely on focusing forth a mental picture of Asumu's location. Although he lacked the eyes of his friend, his ability to sense spiritual energy, both as a Quincy and a spell caster was leagues above that of most others of his kind. He knew how Asumu's energy felt, he could discern it with ease. Once, when he was still weak and powerless, he'd found solace in that presence, and now it would become the bane of his closest friend - the irony was exquisite. Speaking softly to himself, and confident that his words would be masked by the noise of Asumu's attack, he chanted the incantation for one of his favorite spells. "A silver rod strikes the five-fingered stone bed - !" The chant was completely unnecessary of course, at least under ordinary circumstances. For someone whose very energy could be used as substitute for the tubes normally employed, there had never truly been a need for an incantation. Loathe as he was to admit it though, it was slightly difficult for him to cast a spell upon a person he could not actually see, even if he could judge their distance from him with perfect accuracy and feel their energy as vividly as he could Asumu's. To his foe, the world would become completely black as a massive sheet of white solidified white energy manifested around his form, empowered by his incantation, it's structure was flawless, dense and extremely heavy. Guided by his chant, it expanded, stretched and attempted to engulf him from all directions. Crushing his body under it's enormous weight and render him helpless - this entire process transpiring in approximately two seconds. But it didn't end there, no, this time, he would make sure to save his friend from himself. A few meters away from the first sheet, another sheet of Gritz would take form, this one positioned in a way that it would overlap with the holes that'd be briefly left by the first before it's completion. This second layer was then followed by a third layer of Gritz, that served a different function, much larger in width, scope and size than the first two layers, the third one overlapping what at this point had begun resembling a massive white sphere of some impenetrable substance. Within his cocoon, Hanzel reached out with a single hand, before tightening it into a closed fist. The spell reacted immediately to the gesture, as the sphere began shrinking at great speeds, surging inwards to become smaller and smaller, seeking to crush the man trapped within with ruthless certainty. But, it was not over yet, with a quick flourish of his hands, he conjured forth four energy javelins positioned strategically the shrinking sphere, and with significant effort increased their sharpness to the point that they could briefly penetrate even the tremendous hardness of his creation. The fact that he was the caster made the process much simpler, then, with a wave of his hands he promptly impaled the sphere on four different sides, with the reasoning that even if Gritz didn't get him, the spears would. Asumu was certainly glad that he'd decided to keep his Blut Vene at it's highest level of strength that he could manage, for if he didn't, Hanzel's spell just might have killed him. He realized that his 360 field of vision was now completely useless once the sizable Gritz spell had wrapped around him, but he was also somewhat relieved that he was able to tell what the spell was as, if he weren't a Quincy, he would be utterly confused and would very likely not be able to tell what was going on, and thus be crushed like a fly. As quickly as he could, he pushed all of his Blut Vene's energy out of the inside of his body and projected it outwards, forming a Reishi construct shaped like himself that stretched outwards nearly five to six feet. It was a technique that he'd learned a few years ago, called Stahlhaut, a Reishi shield that forms on the outside of the user's body as opposed to the inside like Blut Vene did and, while it could normally take longer to prepare than Blut, Asumu could instead push the energy composing his Blut Vene outwards in order to create the Stahlhaut shield. Given the circumstances, this Stahlhaut formation in particular was not as strong as he would like it to be, but in this case, it wasn't meant to defend Asumu so much as it was meant to keep the Gritz from immediately closing on him. Once the Gritz spell began to shrink inwards at a rapid pace, intent on crushing Asumu, it would instead be wrapping around the larger construct, giving Asumu a small enough space to at least move and prepare his next attack. But before he could even start, he felt another Gritz form outside of the one that was being held at bay, and then another one form outside of that one as well. He was now trapped within three layers of Gritz, all of them closing in on him at a rapid pace, and he knew that his Stahlhaut construct was not going to be able to hold them all off long enough for Asumu to be able to counter attack; he could even see it start to shrink down towards him at a frightening pace, so his time was running out. He reached into his belt's compartment to pull out four more Ginto tubes, not wanting to use the ones that were loaded into his guns, and crushed them all in his palm. The silver liquid, composed of his condensed Reiryoku, initially floated between his palms, but it quickly changed into a beautiful azure-shade as Asumu pulled his palms apart from each other, causing the now Reishi-infused liquid to spread out with them. Asumu wasn't able to absorb any of the Reishi that Hanzel had used for his spell, not while his own construct remained outside of him, so he would have to use Reishi from his own Ginto tubes. The Ginto liquid fed into the construct, which gave it enough power to stretch out against the three layers of Gritz further than before, and now Asumu had a much larger space to operate in, if only for the time being. "The Sharpshooter" ability adapted itself yet again, this time allowing Asumu to see through the construct he'd formed and the Gritz layers, up towards Hanzel's position once more. Just as he raised his left gun upwards towards the man's spot, however, a javelin composed of Reishi shot clean through the lower left part of the Gritz/construct barrier and cut the gun clean in two, but it remained caught in place just after this however, as the thickness of the Gritz layers and the construct was too thick for it to pass through entirely. Asumu retracted his left hand back immediately after his gun was cut in half, and realized that this javelin was likely not the only one Hanzel had made. He would be correct, as another javelin cut into the barrier from his right, and another one from behind him. With quick thinking and reaction timing, Asumu was able to avoid these two weapons, both of which were now caught in place just like the first one, but as he was able to stand in once place after dodging the last one, the final javelin cut into the construct from the front, and this one grazed across his left cheek before it stopped as well. It had managed to draw blood, of course, and it was the first time Asumu had seen his own blood since his basic training. It was hard for him to grasp initially, but his thoughts went from briefly unsettled to frustrated; he knew what risk he was taking by sacrificing his Blut Vene for a half-baked Stahlhaut formation. It was because of these javelins that both the Gritz and the construct were weakened, which was a good thing at this point. Now that he'd kept himself from getting crushed, if only for a few minutes, he would be able to counter attack. He reached down for the severed gun he'd held just earlier, and was relieved to see that the six remaining Ginto tubes in the gun's chamber were still in tact. He took all six of them out and put all but one back in his belt's compartment, before taking the other one and aiming it at Hanzel's location, which he was still able to see. Upon crushing the tube, he released his own, light blue version of Heizen outwards towards his friend's position, the blast completely blowing through the construct's interior and out through the Gritz layers as well. He might not have been as skilled in Ginto as Hanzel was, but he could still cast it without using incantations and the spells be no less powerful than usual. To give himself more breathing room, he aimed his right gun a few meters above Hanzel's head and fired three more Ginto tubes. These all soared over the man's position and, when they shattered, unleashed a massive torrent of Heilig Pfeil arrows down upon him. Asumu had managed to use his Ginto tubes as a way to transfer Heilig Pfeil variations to different locations, in this case, an entire Licht Regen. As there was now a large hole in the barrier, Asumu was able to quickly leap out of it and back into the outside once more, down onto another Reishi platform to stop his fall. Here, he began to quickly absorb the now decomposing Reishi construct and Gritz layers into himself, feeding into the pores of his skin to create yet another Stahlhaut field, this one wrapping tightly around his skin/attire. Because he was able to get enough time to form one as it was meant to be done, it was far stronger than the construct was, and provided a level of defense that dwarfed one such as Blut Vene. "I have to thank you, my old friend." Asumu thought inwardly as he glared up at Hanzel's location lowly. "You've just given me another layer of defense."